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| Table 2: Number of young people and proportion of young people in custody who identify themselves as Muslim (where known) in each SCH and STC | |||||||
| December 2012 | December 2013 | ||||||
| Sector | Establishment | Total occupancy | Occupancy by identity of Muslim | Proportion of young people identified as Muslim (%) | Total occupancy | Muslim Occupancy | Proportion of young people identified as Muslim (%) |
| Notes: 1. The YJB changed its booking system for placing young people into custody during March 2012 from SACHS to eAsset. It is only from this point onwards that information on the religion of the young person in custody was collected. Consequently, data are only available from April 2012 and data by religion are not available for the previous years. 2. The table shows the number of young people held within each Secure Children's Home and Secure Training Centre, who identify themselves as Muslim and the total occupancy to show the proportion of Muslim young people in each establishment. This is self-reported by the young person. This information is not compulsory to be completed by the young person and ‘unknown' is an acceptable category, so there are not complete data for this question. In December 2012, the religion of the young person was not known for 52% of the entire youth custody population in SCHs and STCs and in December 2013, the religion of the young person was not known for 58% of the entire youth population in SCHs and STCs 3. These data are sourced from the eAsset database, the booking system used by the Youth Justice Board to place young people in custody. It is based on the snapshots for December 2012 and December 2013, which are a snapshot date of 28 December 2012 and 3 January 2014 respectively. The data for December 2013 are provisional and will be finalised in January 2015. Data Sources and Quality: These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. | |||||||
Prisoners: Radicalism
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of prisoners in each adult and youth prison in England and Wales were identified as (a) a radicalised Muslim or (b) at risk of being radicalised in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012 and (iv) 2013. [192531]
Jeremy Wright: NOMS holds a number of prisoners who, by their offences prior to custody, clearly hold extremist views and the number of prisoners held under Terrorist Act legislation is published in the Home Office Statistical bulletin. A number of other prisoners, from their behaviour in custody, appear to hold extremist views or may be vulnerable to a radicalising message. However, NOMS assesses that a significant proportion of those exhibiting extremist behaviour do so to disguise or excuse antisocial or criminal behaviours or to attempt to manipulate the prison system.
It is not therefore possible to give precise figures about those radicalised or at risk from radicalising messages.
NOMS works proactively to identify and manage extremist behaviours where they are reported and has a range of interventions at its disposal to recognise, tackle and disrupt extremist behaviour, whether genuine or apparent, and an established multi-agency case management system to deal with prisoners who may be of concern.
Prisons
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which prisons in England and Wales have changed their prison population to accommodate young adults for the first time since May 2010. [190205]
Jeremy Wright: The following table identifies prisons that did not hold young adults (aged 18-20 years old) in May 2010. These prisons have since changed function in order to hold remand and sentenced young adults (aged 18-20 years old).
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Belmarsh
Bullingdon
Cardiff
Durham
Holme House
Isis1
Nottingham
Pentonville
Preston
Swansea
Thameside2
Wandsworth
Winchester
Wormwood Scrubs
1 HMP/YOI Isis opened in August 2010.
2 HMP Thameside opened in April 2012.
Prisons: Mother and Baby Units
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effect of reducing the number of mother and baby units at HM Prison Holloway and HM Prison Askham Grange on (a) the ability of women in prison to maintain family contact and (b) the distance women are held from their families. [186840]
Simon Hughes: The mother and baby unit at HMP/YOI Holloway has been closed in line with the recommendation included in the Women's Custodial Estate Review. The report was published on 25 October and recommended that the women's prison estate be reconfigured to ensure that women are held closer to home with access to the right interventions and with opportunities for meaningful resettlement.
The rationale to close HMP/YOI Holloway's mother and baby unit was to reduce excess capacity within the mother and baby unit system without adversely affecting distance from home for imprisoned mothers with babies and their ability to maintain family contact.
Taking into account the limited physical environment of the mother and baby unit at HMP/YOI Holloway, and the close proximity of HMP Bronzefield (21.5 miles), it was recommended that the 13 places at HMP Holloway should be closed.
The intention to close HMP/YOI Askham Grange follows a steady reduction in the female prison population. We will only close the prison once new resettlement facilities are made available across the country, offering better options for the great majority of female offenders.
Terrorism
Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been charged with terrorist-related offences relating to acts in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) elsewhere in England and Wales in each year since 2005. [193137]
The Solicitor-General: I have been asked to reply.
The following table shows how many of those arrested in Northern Ireland, under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000, were subsequently charged with an offence
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under any legislation except terrorism legislation (the latter would be classed as a terrorism offence, not a terrorism-related one).
The reporting format for these statistics changed after 2008, from a calendar to financial year basis.
| Time period | Total |
The number of people charged for terrorism-related offences in England and Wales is as follows:
| Total number of charges for terrorism-related offences in England and Wales each year since 2005 | |
| Number | |
The above data can also be accessed on the Gov.uk website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/operation-of-police-powers-under-the-terrorism-act-2000-2012-to-2013
Written Statements
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many written statements his Department has published since 1 January 2013 in total; how many such statements were published after the start of the day's business; and how many such statements were published after that day's deadline for requesting urgent questions. [193173]
Simon Hughes: The Ministry of Justice has issued 119 WMSs since January 2013.
The Department aims to issue written statements at 9.30 am, which is the agreed time for the Government to issue written statements. This though is not always possible for a number of reasons. From the Department's records it is not possible to determine how many statements were published after the start of the day's business nor how many statements were published after that day's deadline for requesting urgent questions.
Business, Innovation and Skills
Apprentices: Rossendale and Darwen
Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeship places there were in Rossendale and Darwen constituency in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013. [193299]
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Matthew Hancock: Information on apprenticeship participation and starts by geography is available in Supplementary Tables to a Statistical First Release:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284528/Nov2013_Apprenticeships_Region_Participation.xls
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/286796/apprenticeship-starts-by-geography-learner-demographics-and-sector-subject-area.xlsm
Higher Education
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what his latest estimate is of total cost of supporting students at alternative learning providers in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16 by (i) loan support, (ii) maintenance grants and (iii) any other support; [192893]
(2) what estimate his Department has made of the amount spent on maintenance grants for students at private colleges in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15. [193351]
Mr Willetts: The estimated costs of support to students at alternative providers are as follows:
| £ million | |||
| By financial year | |||
| 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | |
Forecast of expenditure on students at alternative providers remain especially uncertain as we still do not yet know how many students will be paid support in the 2013/14 academic year. All forecasts are based on assumed growth from the 2012/13 baseline.
Minimum Wage: Scotland
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the increase in the minimum wage; [192897]
(2) what recent discussions he has had with Scottish organisations on the increase in the minimum wage; [192898]
(3) what recent discussions he has had with Scottish business leaders on the increase in the minimum wage. [192899]
Jenny Willott: There has been no recent meeting or discussion between the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), and Scottish representatives directly relating to the national minimum wage (NMW) increase.
Each year, the Government ask the Low Pay Commission (LPC) to consider the impact of the NMW in Scotland as part of its annual remit to recommend rates that will apply across the UK as a whole.
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The visits to Scotland are a key part of the LPC programme of visits around the UK to gather information on how the NMW is operating. In 2013, commissioners met a number of representatives in Perth and Dundee to hear first hand what impact the NMW is having on businesses and workers within Scotland.
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what assessment he has made of the effect of the increase in the minimum wage on businesses in Scotland; [192903]
(2) what assessment he has made of the effect of the increase in the minimum wage on low income employees in Scotland; [192904]
(3) what assessment he has made of the number of people in each Scottish local authority area who will benefit from the increase in the minimum wage. [192905]
Jenny Willott: Each year, the Government ask the Low Pay Commission (LPC) to consider the impact of the national minimum wage (NMW) in Scotland as part of its annual remit to recommend rates that will apply across the UK as a whole.
The visits to Scotland are a key part of the LPC programme of visits around the UK to gather information on how the NMW is operating. In 2013, commissioners met a number of representatives in Perth and Dundee to hear first hand what impact the NMW is having on businesses and workers within Scotland.
The objective of the visits, alongside the other work of the LPC, is to recommend the highest NMW rates possible without having an adverse effect on employment.
To date, the LPC's research appears to confirm that the recommendations have achieved their objective. The NMW rates have risen faster than median earnings and (in line with the general academic consensus) the research has found no strong evidence that the minimum wage has damaged aggregate employment levels in the low-paying sectors.
National Careers Service
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many registered users there are of the National Careers Service website in each (a) region and (b) constituent part of the UK. [192987]
Matthew Hancock: Users of the National Careers Service website do not have to register to use the site. The website is currently experiencing over 1.2 million visits each month on average. Users may choose to open a Lifelong Learning Account which allows them to store information and outputs generated from the website tools that they have used. There are currently 1,130,318 registered Lifelong Learning Accounts. The table shows the number of accounts in each region of England and in other constituent parts of the UK.
| Number | |
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| 1 Location is identified by post code. Other represents unrecognised post codes. | |
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many applications for professional development grants have been approved by the National Careers Service (NCS) in each year for which figures are available; and how many applications for such grants have been rejected by the NCS in each such year. [192988]
Matthew Hancock: The National Careers Service (NCS) offers information, advice and guidance to help individuals make decisions about careers, learning and employment. This includes information about possible sources of financial support, including Government schemes such as Professional and Career Development Loans (PCDLs). PCDLs are commercial bank loans where the Government meet the interest charges during the period of study.
The NCS acts as a first point of contact for individuals considering a PCDL but it is not involved in lending decisions. All requests are passed to another agency which issues application forms. In 2013 just over 40,000 forms were issued. PCDL participating banks assess each application on its merit and make decisions based on their own responsible lending criteria.
New Businesses: Government Assistance
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many individuals awarded start-up loans have defaulted on these loans. [192935]
Matthew Hancock: None. However, as start-up loans are granted to new businesses which carry a certain amount of risk, we expect this rate to rise as the loan book matures.
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether start-up loan delivery partners are given a commission on each loan they provide. [192936]
Matthew Hancock: Start-Up Loans Company pays delivery partners only for loans which are drawn down. This approach incentivises partners to source prospective loan applications and provide good quality support to get them to finance readiness.
Partners are targeted on the quality of their credit decisions, customer feedback and arrears. Individual decision making limits are varied monthly depending on their performance against these key performance
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indicators and persistent failure to achieve them can result in termination of contract.
Partners are paid for the granting and administration of loans made, although this is a fixed-fee based structure rather than being based on commission. The agreed fee per loan (which is capped) includes recognition of the costs incurred in working with unsuccessful applicants when their case is referred to lending panels. The success rate from formal application to approval tends to be between 30% and 50%, depending on the partner's approach to screening applicants early on.
The other constituent parts of the fee include the costs of providing post-loan support and mentoring, administering repayments and debt collection activity. These elements (about 50%) are paid in tranches after the loan is made to incentivise ongoing management and guard against cash flow issues. Where performance on these elements is below expectations, fees can be withheld or reduced.
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many start-up loans his Department has awarded to people before a credit check has been undertaken on the applicant; and what the total value of those loans is. [192947]
Matthew Hancock: The requested information is not available.
Credit checking has been mandatory since 1 October 2013.
Post Office Card Account: Northern Ireland
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive on increasing the use of Post Office accounts for benefit payments; and if he will make a statement. [192968]
Jenny Willott: The Post Office Ltd has a contract with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to provide the Post Office card account (POCA) on behalf of DWP, NI Social Services, the MOD, and HMRC. This is regularly used by some 3 million people to access their pensions or benefits and is available across the Post Office network, including of course in Northern Ireland.
The current arrangements for collecting pensions and benefits at post offices will remain in place until at least 2015. Any decision about the future of POCA arrangements and related commercial negotiations are a matter for DWP, in discussion with their partners. However I can confirm that DWP and the Post Office are in discussions about a long term successor to the Post Office card account and that all options under consideration conclude that access to pensions and benefits will continue, beyond March 2015, across the whole post office network of at least 11,500 branches.
UK Export Finance
Mr Umunna:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many (a) small and medium-sized and (b) other businesses received direct financial
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assistance through UK Export Finance in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14 to date. [193051]
Michael Fallon: UK Export Finance has historically provided support principally through the issue of guarantees to banks and insurance to exporters and investors. In 2012-13, UK Export Finance provided 368 facilities worth £4.295 billion of support and, in 2013-14 (to end-February) has provided 513 facilities worth £2.384 billion.
Across its product range it has provided support to (i) 84 exporters (of which 52 were small and medium-sized) in 2012-13 and (ii) 118 exporters (of which 83 were small and medium-sized) in 2013-14 to end-February.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many firms have received support under the UK Export Finance Direct Lending Scheme to date. [193052]
Michael Fallon: The Direct Lending Facility, launched in September 2013, provides funding from the Exchequer for export credit loans repayable on two years credit and longer to overseas buyers to purchase goods and services from UK exporters. To date 15 inquiries have been made to access the scheme, with one application in progress.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the recent Budget changes to the facility, including relaxing the eligibility criteria and reducing the applicable interest rates by applying the minimum permitted under international agreements.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his most recent assessment is of awareness among (a) small and (b) other businesses of the services offered by (i) UK Trade & Investment and (ii) UK Export Finance; and what data his Department use to monitor this awareness. [193053]
Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) assesses awareness among businesses of UKTI on an annual basis through its International Business Strategies, Barriers and Awareness Survey:
http://www.ukti.gov.uk/uktihome/aboutukti/item/623100.html
The 2013 survey shows that 62% of companies questioned with less than 250 employees exporting or planning to export in the next 12 months were aware of UKTI. The following table provides a breakdown of awareness by company size:
| Size (number of employees) | ||||||
| 0 | 1 to 9 | 10 to 49 | 50 to 249 | Total under 250 | 250+ | |
UK Export Finance does not currently undertake its own awareness surveys. However, it contributes questions to the International Trade survey carried out by Trade
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and Export Finance Ltd. The International Trade Survey showed 49% awareness of UKEF products in 2013, up from 42% in 2012.
UK Trade & Investment
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many (a) small and medium-sized and (b) other businesses have been assisted by UK Trade & Investment in 2013-14 to date. [193054]
Michael Fallon: Data on businesses assisted by UK Trade & Investment for the 2013-14 financial year will be available at the end of September 2014.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many small and medium-sized businesses were assisted by UK Trade & Investment in 2012-13. [193086]
Michael Fallon: UK Trade & Investment supported 31,880 businesses in the 2012-13 financial year. 87% of the companies supported (around 27,700) were businesses of less than 250 employees.
Cabinet Office
All Party Groups
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what his Department's policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups. [193382]
Mr Maude: Guidance on officials appearing before all-party parliamentary groups is set out in Volume 2 of the Directory of Civil Service Guidance, copies of which are available in the Library of the House and online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/60997/guide-civil-service-guidance-volume-2_0.pdf
International Development
Burma
Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funds her Department provided to which non-governmental organisations for work in Burma on (a) peace building and (b) other activities in each year since 2005. [192852]
Mr Duncan: DFID is providing £1.5 million to Inter Mediate between 2012-15 for work on peacebuilding in Burma. To list all the non-governmental organisations that we have funded for all other activities since 2005 would incur disproportionate costs as this information is not held centrally. Publishable details of current and recent funding can, however, be found on the Development Tracker which is available on the gov.uk website.
Palestinians
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to provide support to the Gaza aquifer to enable it to recover from pollution and damage caused by over-pumping. [193241]
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Mr Duncan: The British Government support the international effort to ensure that there are alternatives to the continued over-pumping of the Gaza aquifer, and we continue to press the Israeli Government on the need to ease movement and access restrictions in order to ensure access to water in the Gaza strip. DFID supports the Office of the Quartet Representative to work with the Israeli authorities on easing those restrictions, and funds the UN Access Coordination Unit to help 24 UN agencies and 90 INGOs get aid and goods into Gaza.
Electoral Commission Committee
Electoral Register: Bolton North East
Mr Crausby: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the electoral registration figures were in each ward in the recent confirmation dry run conducted in Bolton North East constituency. [191551]
Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.
Results for all wards are available on the Commission's website here:
http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls
The ward results for the Bolton North East constituency were as follows:
| Percentage | |||
| Ward | Green matches | Amber matches | Red matches |
Electoral Register: Sheffield
Mr Betts: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the electoral registration figures were in each ward in the recent confirmation dry run conducted by Sheffield city council. [191538]
Paul Blomfield: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the electoral registration figures were in each ward in the recent confirmation dry run conducted in Sheffield. [191658]
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Mr Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.
Results for all wards are available on the Commission's website here:
http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls
The ward results for Sheffield city council were as follows:
| Percentage | |||
| Ward | Green matches | Amber matches | Red matches |
Work and Pensions
Children: Maintenance
Mr Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to publish the audited figures for the Child Support Agency's client funds account for 2012-13. [193274]
Steve Webb: It is our intention to publish the audited figures for the Child Support Agency's client funds account for 2012-13 on 27 March.
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Employment and Support Allowance
Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who had an employment and support allowance award terminated during the mandatory reconsideration process subsequently claimed jobseeker's allowance in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013. [192885]
Mike Penning: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Housing Benefit: Scotland
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Scotland and (b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency under the age of 25 years were in receipt of housing benefit in the last year for which figures are available. [192796]
Steve Webb: The requested information is shown in the table.
| Monthly housing benefit recipients under the age of 25 in Scotland and Kilmarnock and Loudoun parliamentary constituency, December 2012-November 2013 | ||
| Scotland | Kilmarnock and Loudoun parliamentary constituency | |
| Note: Recipients are counted on the second Thursday of the month and statistical disclosure control has been applied to protect against the identification of individual claimants. Source: Stat-Xplore, Department for Work and Pensions. | ||
This information is published and can be found at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk
Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:
https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm
Occupational Pensions
Mr Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to support small and medium-sized businesses that are due to automatically enrol their employees in 2014. [193165]
Steve Webb: The Pensions Regulator is focusing on educating and enabling employers of all sizes to ensure they are aware of automatic enrolment and understand what they have to do.
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The Regulator has implemented an employer journey that consists of a series of letters and e-mails being sent to employers from 12 months prior to their staging date. As their staging date approaches each e-mail informs the employer what stage they should be at and also signposts employers to guidance and tools that have been provided by the Regulator.
There is a suite of tools on the Regulator's website including an interactive planning tool to assist employers in getting ready, a staging date tool to find out your staging date, and detailed guides. It has also established a customer support centre for employers to discuss any questions they may have.
The Regulator is also working with intermediaries such as software developers, payroll bureaux and trade body groups to make sure they are able to provide suitable tools, guidance or support if employers require it. Recently an employer advertising campaign has been under way to raise awareness and guide employers to the Regulator's website to help them in their preparations.
Throughout the initial roll-out of automatic enrolment the Regulator has been assessing the impact of its communications and updating its products to ensure it meets the needs of the changing audience, from the UK's largest employers with thousands of workers, through to those with a small work force. The Regulator's communications are developed following testing and research and are updated to meet the needs of the changing audience.
Based on research by the Pensions Regulator, levels of employer awareness and understanding of their automatic enrolment duties are high and showing appropriate progress towards employers being able to comply with their duties.
Mr Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the number and proportion of employers scheduled to join auto-enrolment in April 2014 that are on track to meet their deadlines. [193166]
Steve Webb: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has overall responsibility for monitoring compliance with the new employer duties and employers must register with TPR and state how they are meeting the duties.
We expect around 15,900 medium employers (50 to 249) to stage between April and June 2014 (based on PAYE information as at 1 April 2012).
Research published by the Pensions Regulator in February 2014 shows that most small to medium employers (91%) were confident that their organisation would have done everything it needed to by the deadline.
The Pensions Regulator expects to publish further information on their Compliance and Enforcement work this summer.
Mr Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the capacity of pension advisors and providers to support employers who are scheduled to establish workplace pensions through auto-enrolment in 2014. [193167]
Steve Webb: The Government are aware of the capacity challenges facing the pensions industry. DWP is engaging regularly with pension providers to ascertain capacity as we move through the medium employer staging dates.
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We are confident that NEST will continue to accept all employers in accordance with its Public Service Obligations and will be able to overcome any challenges of employers going to it late.
Automatic enrolment has been designed so that employers do not need to take advice in order to comply with their duties although we understand that many will choose to pay for advice. The Government engage regularly with intermediaries and believe that there is capacity and interest in the market to meet demand.
Mr Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to ensure that employers comply with their obligations under auto-enrolment. [193199]
Steve Webb: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has overall responsibility for enforcing compliance with the new employer duties and employers must register with TPR and state how they are meeting the duties.
TPR's focus is on educating and enabling employers to meet their duties and establishing and maintaining a ‘pro-compliance' culture.
TPR writes to all employers 12 months before the date they are required to start enrolling workers, and on at least one other occasion (depending on employer size). TPR has also encouraged employers to start planning early (at least 12 months prior to their duties start date). It has provided tools and guidance to help employers plan and these are under constant review as the reforms roll out.
Some employers will fail to comply because they have not understood or have not been able to comply. Where employers do not comply, TPR will consider the circumstances of each case and, where it is appropriate to do so, work with employers to get them compliant. TPR has a graduated approach to enforcement beginning with warnings leading to statutory notices then financial penalties. Criminal prosecution will be used only in the most serious cases.
Social Rented Housing: Older People
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of households in the social rented sector in which there is one or more people over the state pension age are under-occupying their property. [192882]
Esther McVey: Tenants who are not in receipt of housing benefit and who have reached the age for state pension credit are not affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy. As a consequence, no households would be classed as under-occupying.
Social Security Benefits
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2014, Official Report, column 851W, on social security benefits, for what reason information from his Department's document Incapacity Benefits: Death of Recipients published in July 2012 was not included in the response; and whether the information contained in that document is still collected. [192948]
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Mike Penning: The reason that the referred document was not included in the previous answer is that it does not answer the question as asked.
The Department does monitor requests we receive for new statistics and consider whether we can produce and release analysis that will helpfully inform public debate. The Department is therefore looking at this issue with a view to seeing what statistics could be produced on a regular basis.
Energy and Climate Change
Fuel Poverty
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of extending entitlement to assistance with utility costs to all claimants of universal credit once universal credit has been fully rolled out. [193247]
Gregory Barker: There is a range of assistance with energy costs available to low income and vulnerable consumers.
Some policies offer automatic payments. For example, cold weather payments provide £25 for each seven-day period of very cold weather to eligible households. The cost of this scheme is dependent not only on who is eligible but also on the number of consecutive days of very cold weather in a given winter.
Other types of assistance are set at a given level of annual support, irrespective of the number of eligible consumers. For example, Affordable Warmth is estimated to deliver energy efficiency and heating measures worth around £350 million. While a consumer needs to be claiming certain types of benefits to be eligible for the scheme, support is capped at a certain target level and therefore extending the scheme's eligibility criteria would not necessarily affect the cost of the scheme.
These examples highlight that the cost of assistance is dependent on a number of factors beyond simply whether a consumer is eligible for support. We estimate 8 million people will be receiving universal credit once it has been fully rolled out. However, the cost to the public purse of extending the eligibility of the assistance schemes will depend on which schemes are included (e.g. would winter fuel payments be included?), the way eligibility is implemented (capped versus automatic) and external factors such as the weather.
Renewables Obligation
Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) what his policy is on granting support to renewable electricity generation technologies under the Renewables Obligation before that scheme's closure in 2017; [192760]
(2) what assessment he has made of the effect on investment in renewable electricity generation if the Renewables Obligation were closed to new projects before 2017; [192761]
(3) whether the Renewables Obligation will remain open to all new renewable electricity generation projects until 2017. [192795]
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Michael Fallon: The Government's approach to the renewables obligation through to its closure is set out in the Government response to the consultations on Renewables Obligation transition and grace periods published on 12 March and which can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/289076/Transition_and_Grace_Periods_Government_Response_-_12_Mar_2014.pdf
Wind Power
Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the answer of 3 December 2012, Official Report, column 590W, on wind power, what progress he has made on addressing the issue of manufacturers selling turbines which have been de-rated to allow them to benefit from higher tariffs; and if he will make a statement. [192994]
Michael Fallon: DECC takes the issue of turbine de-rating under the feed-in tariff scheme (FITs) seriously.
To the end of September 2013, 110 turbines had been installed under the feed-in tariff scheme (FITs) in the 100 kW to 500 kW band, representing just 2.2% of wind sites. Of these 110, eight, with a total installed capacity between 490 kW to 500kW, had been de-rated.
Home Department
Animal Welfare
Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which responsibilities for tackling animal welfare crimes are managed by (a) her Department and (b) non-governmental organisations. [191996]
Norman Baker: The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is the lead Government Department for policy and legislation in relation to animal welfare, including offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The police and local authorities have powers to enforce that Act, but any person or organisation (such as the RSPCA) can initiate criminal proceedings under it.
In addition to the Government's funding for individual police forces to tackle all types of crime, including wildlife crime, the Home Office and DEFRA both contribute funding to support the work of the National Wildlife Crime Unit, the national police unit dedicated to tackling wildlife crime. Where wildlife crimes are sufficiently serious, organised or complex, the National Crime Agency will ensure that partners across the law enforcement community benefit from its co-ordination, tasking and intelligence arrangements, as well as being able to access its specialist capabilities. Furthermore, the Home Office plays a key role in the Government's efforts to tackle the illegal wildlife trade, which is a serious transnational criminal industry worth billions of pounds each year. I was therefore pleased that, at the recent London Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference which I attended, world leaders from over 40 countries made a commitment to eradicate the trade.
The Home Office also regulates the use of living animals in scientific procedures in England, Scotland and Wales under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
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Asylum
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what estimate she has made of the number of people from Syria who will relocate through the vulnerable persons relocation scheme between 29 January 2014 and 30 May 2015; [192035]
(2) what estimate she has made of how many (a) private and (b) public sector properties will be used for the vulnerable persons relocation scheme in 2014-15; [192036]
(3) which local authorities are participating in the vulnerable persons relocation scheme. [192037]
James Brokenshire: The vulnerable persons relocation scheme has been put in place to relocate to the UK some of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees, displaced to neighbouring countries by the ongoing conflict. We anticipate that it will support several hundred people over the next three years. Ongoing discussions with a number of local authorities regarding participation in the scheme will determine exact numbers to be relocated between 29 January 2014 and 30 May 2015. Given the continuing nature of these discussions, it is therefore too early to have a clear indication of the type of accommodation that will be available to house the relocated refugees.
Crime: Nature Conservation
Mr Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the UK meets its obligations on tackling the illegal wildlife trade under the 2014 London Declaration; and if she will make a statement. [193168]
Norman Baker: The coalition Government takes the illegal wildlife trade very seriously.
The Home Office will continue to work with other departments to ensure that the Government delivers on the UK Commitment to Action on the Illegal Wildlife Trade.
Border Force will continue to play a lead role for the UK in respect of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species, delivering risk-based anti-smuggling controls at the border in line with agreed national priorities and taking account of latest available intelligence.
The Home Office is also providing specific funding of £136,000 for the National Wildlife Crime Unit in each of the next two financial years to ensure that the Unit can continue its important work, including as the UK focal point for international police co-operation on all wildlife crime-related matters, such as initiatives on the illegal wildlife trade.
Border Force and the National Wildlife Crime Unit will consider specific requests to provide practical assistance and training to help tackle the illegal wildlife trade.
Crime: Pendle
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many criminal offences by foreign-born nationals were recorded in Pendle constituency in each of the last five years. [192375]
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Norman Baker: The Home Office does not hold data on the nationality of offenders, and so cannot provide data on the number of offences committed by foreign-born nationals that were recorded by police in Pendle.
The Home Office collects aggregate data on the number of offences recorded by the police, available at police force area and Community Safety Partnership level. However, we do not hold details about the people responsible for these offences.
The Ministry of Justice collects details on the number of offenders and offender characteristics, but does not collect information on the number of offences that these offenders commit.
Cybercrime
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how her Department assesses the effectiveness of the Cyber Crime Reduction Partnership and progress against commitments made under the UK Cyber Security Strategy, page 36, objective 1. [193134]
Karen Bradley: The UK Cyber Security Strategy was published in November 2011. The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), gave a commitment to put an annual report before Parliament on progress against objectives set out in the strategy.
The Minister for the Cabinet Office gave the second annual report on 12 December 2013, Official Report, columns 43-47WS. The Minister for the Cabinet Office also placed before Parliament a list of achievements over the proceeding year and a document that outlines its forward plans, priorities and some key initiatives to be taken forward. This includes work undertaken within objective 1 of the strategy including the Cyber Crime Reduction Partnership. The documents can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-cyber-security-strategy-2-years-on
The Partnership, one of a set of new engagement structures with industry on Cyber Security, provides an opportunity to raise awareness of cybercrime among members, helping them to become more resilient to the threat. Based on a shared workplan, it provides a forum for partners to share views and contribute to key actions in the Strategy.
Drugs: Misuse
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the expert review into psychoactive substances will report. [192820]
Norman Baker [holding answer 24 March 2014]:The findings of the review into new psychoactive substances which I announced on 12 December 2013 are due to be presented to Ministers by the end of spring 2014.
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether she has asked the expert review of new psychoactive substances to look at improving education and public awareness around new psychoactive substances; [192912]
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(2) who the members of the expert panel into new psychoactive substances are; and what the list of witnesses to be called is; [192914]
(3) when she expects to publish the findings of the expert review of new psychoactive substances; [192915]
(4) what provision she has made to allow charities and expert groups to contribute to the expert review into new psychoactive substances. [192962]
Norman Baker: The aim of the review is to consider the new drugs landscape which the arrival of new psychoactive substances has produced, and how the UK's response should be strengthened. It is considering the legal framework to deal with these new substances, as well as other policy levers, for example in health or education, which might be available to the Government.
The names of the core expert panel members are given in the table. Members were chosen for their expertise and extensive networks which they are using to bring evidence to the review.
The panel is considering national and international available evidence, and is engaging with other experts and organisations including charities as the review progresses.
The choice of expert witnesses is a matter for the panel.
As referred to in the published Terms of Reference, the panel's recommendations will be presented to Home Office Ministers in the spring.
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Female Genital Mutilation
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment her Department has made of the proportion of calls made to the NSPCC reporting female genital mutilation cases that have been passed on to the police. [191987]
Norman Baker [holding answer 18 March 2014]: The NSPCC's FGM helpline received 174 contacts between its launch in June 2013 and 28 February 2014. Of this number, 75 have been referred to the relevant police force. There were 35 contacts from professionals seeking advice on the correct procedures to follow in regard to a child at risk of FGM. The other 64 contacts were more general enquiries relating to FGM.
Prison Sentences
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in prison in the latest period for which data are available served a time longer than their full sentence. [188792]
James Brokenshire [holding answer 26 February 2014]:For the week commencing 24 February 2014, there were 821 immigration detainees in prisons.
Please note that the data include a small number of individuals who have never served a custodial sentence. These individuals present specific risk factors that indicate they pose a serious risk of harm to the public or to the good order of an Immigration Removal Centre, including the safety of staff and other detainees, which cannot be managed within the regime applied in IRCs.
To extract this small number of cases who have not served a custodial sentence would incur a disproportionate cost as this would involve looking at individual records.
Racially Aggravated Offences
Mr Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the effects of steps to tackle racially motivated hate crimes. [192842]
Norman Baker: Policing and Criminal Justice issues in Northern Ireland are devolved matters. However, the Home Office has regular discussions with the Department of Justice about measures that are in place to tackle racially motivated crimes, including criminal legislation, as part of the United Kingdom's involvement in work to tackle hate crime across the European Union.
UN Commission on the Status of Women
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department has taken to implement the commitments made in the outcome document for UN Commission on the Status of Women 2013; and if she will make a statement. [193275]
Norman Baker: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 20 March 2014, Official Report, column 688W.
Mr Jim Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations she has
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received from civil society organisations on the UN Commission on the Status of Women 2014. [193276]
Norman Baker: Active engagement with civil society was a key element of preparations and plans for the 58th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women. A robust programme of consultation and engagement with a wide range of civil society organisations was put in place by the Government Equalities Office, so enabling them to take account of the views and representations of UK non-governmental organisations in the negotiations at the Commission. These have included representations on the following:
i. a priorities paper on the post-2015 agenda from the UK NGO CSW Alliance;
ii. a submission from the Gender and Development Network; and
iii. statements on millennium development goals and the post-2015 framework from faith-based organisations and international civil society organisations.
Education
Free School Meals
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education at what level of household income children in households in receipt of universal credit will be eligible for free school meals. [192826]
Mr Laws: We have not yet made final decisions on what the entitlement criteria for free school meals under universal credit will be. We are working with the Department for Work and Pensions to develop suitable criteria which will ensure that free lunches continue to be available to those families on the lowest incomes.
We will allow good time for interested parties to comment on our proposals before we introduce the new criteria.
New Schools Network
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to designate the New Schools Network as a public authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and if he will make a statement. [193278]
Mr Timpson: There are no plans to designate the New Schools Network as a public authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Schools: Construction
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2014, Official Report, column 250W, on schools: construction, what the (a) final bid date in April 2014 and (b) expected decision date is. [192507]
Mr Laws: Final bids in the procurement are due to be received from the three shortlisted bidders on 17 April 2014, and the Education Funding Agency is scheduled to appoint a selected bidder by the end of May 2014.
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Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2014, Official Report, column 250W, on schools: construction, what the construction time scale is for each of the 198 schools with which his Department is working in the Priority School Building Programme, but at which construction has not yet started. [192508]
Mr Laws: We are currently working with 221 schools in the Priority School Building Programme (PSBP). We will have commenced work with all schools by the end of 2014. Before building work can begin, plans must be drawn up, contracts negotiated and planning permission secured. Construction work has already started at 24 schools (20 under main works contracts and four under early works agreements). We expect that building work will have commenced at all schools by the end of 2016. All schools will be delivered by the end of 2017, two years earlier than originally planned.
Under Building Schools for the Future (BSF), it took three years from first planning for building works to begin. We have cut this to one year under the PSBP. Had we continued with BSF time scales, no PSBP schools would yet have started construction. The first school being rebuilt under the PSBP will open in May 2014.
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Schools: Staffordshire
Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has any plans to increase the amount of funding allocated to schools in South Staffordshire constituency. [193117]
Mr Laws: Earlier this month I announced plans to boost funding for around 60 of the least fairly funded local authorities, which will mean that every local area will attract at least a minimum level of funding for each of its pupils and schools. As Staffordshire already attracts funding above these levels, it will not receive additional money as part of these proposals. Staffordshire receives funding on a per pupil basis, so the amount allocated to schools in Staffordshire will increase in line with demographic growth.
Schools in Staffordshire local authority received over £22 million of pupil premium funding in 2013-14. This is a significant Government investment in addition to mainstream school funding. We will increase pupil premium funding rates for 2014-15 to £1,300 for every eligible primary pupil and £935 for every eligible secondary pupil, as well as expanding the scope of the pupil premium to cover more disadvantaged pupils than ever before.